Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illumination device provided in the interior of an automobile.
Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an illumination device for illuminating occupant(s) provided on the ceiling between a driver's seat and a passenger seat, an illumination device provided along an edge portion of the ceiling across the front-rear direction or a longitudinal direction of a vehicle, an illumination device provided on the vehicle interior side of an automobile door, in particular, on a door trim serving as an inside lining panel, and the like have been known as general interior illumination devices, including, for example, automobile interior illumination devices.
Examples of the purpose of the illumination device provided on a door trim of an automobile include enhancement of the operability for an occupant in a darkened room by increasing the visibility of switches or the like provided on the door trim or illuminating the inside of a pocket (housing portion) provided on the door trim. These illumination devices may be installed, for example, in such a way that a light source and a light guide member are provided on the surface of the door trim or the inside of the pocket, and the illumination devices are lit in response to a switching operation performed by the occupant or to opening or closing of the door.
In recent years, for a purpose other than enhancement of the operability for the occupant in the darkened room as mentioned above, an illumination device installed on the door trim for the purpose of illumination in order to enhance the design quality is known. In this case, since the purpose is different from that of the above-described illumination devices, it is required to emit light in an elongated form along the contour of the member constituting the door trim, rather than brightly illuminating an arbitrary position in a spot form. Exemplary methods for achieving this include an example in which a resin elongated light guide member extending in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle is provided on the rear side of the member (e.g., switch panel) constituting the door trim, and an illumination effect is achieved by causing light to be leaked through a translucent lens from a gap between a switch panel and a door trim, which are opaque members (e.g., Patent Document 1).